The midnight driveway was a ribbon of moonlight, the snow was without
a dip or scratch, and the closest sign of life he could spot was the gargoyle perched
on the slant above the door.

With its teeth bared and wings outstretched, the mere sight of it induced
more of a shudder in him than the sudden onslaught of icy wind did.

Or maybe it was more the recollection of it from the winters he
had spent here. His parents rarely had the means to send him for him from
school so he had spent the occasional holiday here with his removed uncle,
minding he never stared at the statue for too long at once lest it were to decide it didn't like the look of him.

Only now he could not deny that he was no longer twelve, he was
not visiting from school, and his uncle no longer remained. The only constant amidst
this bundle of realities was the stance of the manor, eerie as ever.

Not convenient, that.

Far from it. And being dubbed as the new owner of it was just the
same when he wasn’t ready to be the master of any domain.

He left the warmth of his carriage and trudged up to the door.

With his tan breeches already made dark and damp, he shivered and retrieved
the heavy key from his pocket.

4 comments:

So glad you came to the party, Afsaneh! So creepy. This is great personification for the gargoyle: "minding he never stared at the statue for too long at once lest it were to decide it didn't like the look of him." Love it!